Orphaned Childhood
by NutMaeg
Summary: Naru and Lin are about to return home, when one last case has them investigating. Can Mai convince Naru to stay with the extra time she's been given? Or will the spirits get her first...
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry about that guys. When I went to delete a recently submitted story... I accidently deleted this one. *laughs nervously* Sorry 'bout that. Now, ON WITH THE SHOW!**

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1. Where a client is persistent and Mai is surprised.

It's so strange. You know, I didn't think I'd grow this attached to the place in the beginning. Heck, I didn't think I would even grow attached to _him._ My narcissistic, stuck up, full of himself boss and his office. And yet, seeing all of these packing boxes made my heart ache.

Of course, it could also be because we had just finished a scary case not even a few days ago. It was during that case that I learned that Naru had a twin brother, Gene, who had died here in Japan. Who had helped us so many times by visiting me in my 'sleep'. Who I had thought was Naru himself.

I shook my head as I continued stacking his heavy books into the box that was currently in front of me. Since Naru had finally found Gene's body, he and Lin were heading back to England to give him a proper burial. Since I was still technically under his employment, I decided to come the last few days to help with the packing.

Mostly, I just wanted to see Naru a little more before he left me for good.

"Mai, hot tea," I heard Naru call out from his office. Great, I fumed. Here I am being nicer than I should be and he still finds the time to boss me around over tea. I sighed as I walked over to the kitchenette, and then smiled a little. I wonder how he's going to get his tea without me around to make it.

Now, being the person that I am, I should have known to be more observant when walking around piles of stacked up boxes, but apparently I never learn. Why do I say this? Because as I was walking over to make the tea, I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hadn't seen the extension cord dangling out of one of the boxes.

_**CRASH!**_

This was how I found myself sprawled on the floor with at least two boxes flattening me. "Why do this always happen to me?" I asked myself. I mean, this wasn't the first time something tried to squash me. There was the whole third floor that one case…

"Mai, when I agreed to let you continue your job for the few days left, it was to help, not make more of a mess."

I glared up from my heap on the floor at Naru, who just stood with no intention of helping me up. Typical. "Sorry for being so clumsy," I said sarcastically. Honestly, the least he could do would be to take one of these boxes off of me. I winced as the edge of a box poked my side. Man, I must have knocked over one of the equipment boxes.

Suddenly, the weight that had been squishing me disappeared. Looking up, I saw that Lin had been the one to come to my rescue. "Thanks, Lin," I said gratefully as I got up. Lin, of course, said nothing at all. I was used to it though. Actually, though he was silent, Lin was an okay guy. And we we're closer than we had been in the beginning. Well, not that I can blame him. I had gotten him injured, after all.

Anyway, by the time I had dusted myself off Lin had already turned to Naru. "There's a client here to see you," he told him in that to-the-point voice he had.

Naru frowned. "I thought that I'd made it clear that we we're no longer accepting any cases," he said to Lin. Which was true. I mean, since they were leaving and all.

I could almost see Lin shrug, though I know he never would, being the kind of person he was. "Though they've made aware of that, the client insists upon meeting with you." He sighed. "Apparently, it's of the utmost importance."

~,~'~,~'~,~

It took a few minutes, but Naru finally decided to go and see the stubborn client that wouldn't take no for an answer. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor guy. Knowing Naru, it wasn't going to be pretty.

Luckily, while Naru was preoccupied with the client I was able to finish making the tea. Tray in hand, I tried to decide weither or not to bring it to Naru right away. Sure, I'd probably pay for it later if I didn't, but I didn't want to risk being sucked in to an argument. I mean, sometimes people get desperate, right?

Whatever. I guess I would just have to deal. Slowly, so that I wouldn't make _another_ mess, I made my way towards the 'living room' where we usually spoke with the clients. As I got closer, I could hear the poor client plead her case. Sounded like a woman from here. Huh.

"…really need your help, Mr. Shibuya!"

"I'm sorry, but there's really nothing that I can do. As you're aware, my assistant and I will be leaving shortly-"

"But you don't understand! The children's lives are at stake! Please, there's nowhere else I can go; no one else will help me!"

"Even so, I can't…"

I sighed as I got to the door. That poor woman. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Actually, I always felt bad for the people that Naru turned down. Or at least the ones that AREN'T trying to pull a scam on us. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what had her pleading with Naru like this. Must be really bad.

I knocked to let them know that I was coming in and then opened the door. "I finally got your tea, Naru!" I said cheerfully.

He glared at me. Crap. "Please set it on the table and get back to your packing," he told me coldly. "I don't believe that I pay you to eavesdrop, after all."

I could feel my face go red. How dare he? I wasn't eavesdropping; I was bringing his stupid tea! And he could at least say thank you for actually bringing it! I could have just not bothered making it at all after he let me almost get crushed!

"Of course, your majesty. Sorry for disturbing your clearly busy day!" I huffed, turning on my heel to leave. I almost made it to the door when I heard my name being called. I turned, confused, because it wasn't Naru that had called my name. It was the client.

The woman had been sitting right behind where I was standing so I hadn't had a chance to see her, but now that I looked I could see that she was a 40 something year old woman with shoulder length red hair and blue eyes. It was strange. She looked so familiar…

"You are Mai Taniyama, aren't you?" she asked me again, which was even weirder because I hadn't said my name to her or anything. This was my first time meeting the woman. I think…

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" I asked her, still confused.

She smiled as she stood up. "It's me, Mai. Remember? Miss Usagi?"

Suddenly, I remembered who she was. And I was shocked. "Kanako-sensei?"

She smiled again, and I couldn't help but run into her arms. "Oh my God, I can't believe it!" I cried out as we hugged. "Kanako-sensei how are you? It's been so long…"

"I'm fine, Mai," she told me. "It's so nice to see you again. And look at you! You're so independent! A job already!"

I grinned at her, and would have continued if a certain narcissist had not interrupted due to lack of attention towards him. "Mai, please explain to me how you know this woman."

Stepping away from her, I looked at Naru. The cold stare he gave me warned me that somehow, things were not going to go well.

"Naru, this is Kanako Usagi. She was my middle school teacher, and she was the one who looked after me when my mom died."

Naru's stare dropped another few degrees, and I almost didn't hold in a very long sigh. Yep, this was going to be loads of fun.

Not.

* * *

**Hey guys! *waves***

**Since I forgot to put my commentary in last time, I'm gonna remember to do it now! So...yeah. Hopefully that'll be a good thing!**

**So. Basically this came to me in a dream... and now I'm writing it out. **

***mutters* Somehow it always happens like that...**

**Anyway thanks for reading my stories, and sorry for the inconveniance!**

***bows deeply***


	2. Chapter 2

2. Where Mai remembers and Naru is Frosty

The ride over to the orphanage was a long one, and I couldn't wait to get out of the car. I mean, it wasn't that bad…. if you didn't mind a driver that never spoke a word and if you overlooked the slightly moody teen sitting next to him.

I sighed from my place in the back. What I wouldn't give to be in Ayako's car right now… I mean, at least I would be able to hold a conversation with her and John, or at least get a few laughs from Yasu. But nooooooo, I had to get stuck with Naru and Lin because we had to leave first and Monk was only going to show up tomorrow.

Leaning on the car door, and I looked out of the window and watched the trees whiz by us creating a blur of green. Not that I could really blame Naru for being in such a bad mood…

"_Naru, this Kanako Usagi. She was my middle school teacher, and she was the one who looked after me when my mom died."_

_Naru's stare dropped a few degrees but I pretended to ignore it as I turned back to Kanako-sensei. "I never would have thought that we'd again in this kind of place, Sensei." I said._

_Sensei had a sad look on her face as she nodded. "Neither did I," she said. "But I don't know where else to go anymore. Everyone else that I've seen has turned me away, and if Mr. Shibuya doesn't help me, I… I'll…."_

_I stared helplessly as she tried to hold back her tears. This must have been more serious than I had thought. "What's going on exactly?" I asked, trying to make sense of the situation._

"_It appears that her orphanage is being haunted by a malicious entity," Naru said, with a sort of look that said he wished that the on-the-verge-of-tears woman would just leave. What a jerk._

"_Wait a minute, I didn't know that you had an orphanage, Sensei," I said, genuinely surprised._

_She smiled. "Well, when I was looking after you my maternal instincts surfaced, and I couldn't help but want to do something. I mean, I know that you were doing well considering, but not many children had that kind of luck." Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I started looking into jobs that would help children when I found a little orphanage near that lake I used to take you to. The owner was selling it because she couldn't handle the job anymore, so I saw my chance, and I took it. The children have been so wonderful… they all remind me of you."_

"_But then, about two months ago, strange things started to happen around the orphanage. Toys started disappearing, furniture moved places, and the children would have little scrapes and bruises. I didn't think much of it, but recently it's gotten worse."_

"_Worse how?" I asked._

"_Well… two weeks ago one of the boys woke up screaming. Something had been trying to pull him under the bed, but when I looked there was nothing there. Then a few days later one of the little girls had scratches all down her legs, almost like claw marks." She started shaking. "I need help NOW. I just now that if this continues, one of the children might end up severly injured. Or worse…."_

_I couldn't take anymore. Turning to Naru, I said, "Why aren't we taking her case? This isn't some random guy trying to get the house or anything!"_

_Naru sighed, infuriating me all the more. "As you are aware, we're no longer taking cases due to the fact th-"_

"_Don't you DARE give me that crap, Naru!" I spat, slamming my fist on the table. Behind me I could hear the surprise of Kanako-sensei but I was too angry to really pay attention. "There are actual _lives_ in danger here! How could you even think of leaving when they need you?"_

_Naru stood up. "I believe I've already explained myself. Now if you'll excuse me, there are still many things that I need to do." With that he turned to leave._

_I was almost on the verge of tears, and I didn't understand why I was hurting like this. I guess it was because I had been there before. Being without parents, all alone. Luckily for me, Kanako-sensei had taken me in and gotten me back onto my feet. If she hadn't been there for me, I probably wouldn't have made it as far as I am today._

_To those kids, I felt like I was the one who was supposed to be there for them. And I guess it was true. Because if I didn't help them, then no one else would._

_"You think you had it bad?"_

_Naru stopped at the door. He didn't look at me, and I focused on a spot on the floor. "I'm sure it must have been bad Naru. That you must've been in pain. Heck, maybe you still are." I glared at the back of his head. "But you had people there for you, family and friends to support you weither you chose to take that support or not. People that are still there for you."_

_"So I guess it's understandable that you wouldn't know how much it hurts when you lose everything and everyone. To be suddenly left alone in a world where most people are cruel and uncaring and think that your worthless for being the way you are. You wouldn't know what it's like to feel abandoned, to feel like nothing will ever be okay again."_

_I took a deep breath. "These kids do, and now, finally, they've found a place they can call home. They don't have to cry every night for their parents because they've found a family that cares for them, no matter how broken that family actually is. These kids don't deserve to have that taken from them again, Naru."_

_The whole time that I spoke Naru had never turned back. I found myself holding my breath as I waited for him to speak or move. It was almost unbearable._

_Finally, Naru broke the silence. "Call Takigawa and the others. See if they're willing to take on one last case."_

Which is how we ended up on the way to Kanako-sensei's orphanage. Now that I think about it, I might have been a too pushy with Naru. But I was glad that he accepted this case.

I wish that someone would start talking soon, though. Mostly because I kept thinking about things that I would rather not think about. Like family.

I don't remember much about Dad, and thinking about Mom still hurt sometimes, but it wasn't as bad now. Somehow, when I had started working for Naru, I had found a family. A rockstar dad, a fussy mom, a foreign cousin, a stuck up sibling, a quiet uncle, and a comic relative. I still wasn't too sure where Naru fit; the only thing I could think of was 'significant other', and even that was a stretch.

But again, like all those years ago, my family was going to be broken up, and there wasn't anything that I could do about it. As much as I wanted to, I knew that there was little chance that I could convince Naru to stay here in Japan, and even though I hated to admit it, I knew that everyone else was going to drift away from me. Doing this job was the only thing that was keeping us all together, and even the job was soon going to end. Everything that I had to look forward in my day would be gone.

I shook my head clear from those thoughts. The last thing I needed was to get caught up in my own pity party. I would cope like I had last time, no sweat. The most important thing right now was the children. Well, that and keeping my emotions in check. I wouldn't want to burden the others with my little fantasies.

The van slowed down, and as I looked up, I could see a white house emerging from the forest. Finally, we had made it to Kanako-sensei's orphanage.

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**Mae: I like commenting after a chapter. I always find it so much fun! :3**

**Naru: Somehow that doesn't surprise me...**

**Mae: What was that, Naru? *menacing aura in background***

**Mai: Now now guys...**

**Naru: Mai, shouldn't you be working right now?**

**Mai:... *mutters* Workaholic...**

**Mae: Cut her some slack, Naru.**

**Naru: Why? She already bearly works as it is.**

**Mai: HEY!**

**Mae: *sighs, grumbles about jerks* Look, before I forget, I don't own Ghost Hunt.**

**Naru: No surprise there either.**

**Mae:... if I did, then NARU WOULD ALWAYS WEAR PINK!**

**Mai: O.o**


	3. Chapter 3

3. In which orphans are cute, but Naru is not.

The orphanage itself looked a little small, but I could understand how its cheery little western styled layout would be good for the kids. With the beautiful scenery and the white and green house, I was falling in love with the place myself.

Stepping out of the van, I saw Kanako-sensei step out of the front door with a little girl clinging to her leg. As we approached, the girl hid herself, but Kanako-sensei smiled wide and came to meet us. "I'm glad to see that you've all made it here okay," she said.

Naru only nodded, and then said, "I trust you've set up a room for us?"

I all but glared at Naru's rude behaviour, but Kanako-sensei just nodded. "I've also set up some rooms for you all," she added. "If you come this way, I'll show you around now so that no one'll get lost later."

"That would be appreciated," Naru said, and with a quick word to Lin he entered the house with Kanako-sensei. When I saw Lin head back to the van, I understood that Naru had asked him to start unpacking, so I followed the others before I was left behind.

The inside of the house was just as nice and comforting as the outside was; the walls were a sort of creamy beige with cheery paintings hung along them, and the floor looked like it was a sort of mahogany wood. As we passed, I could see some rooms filled with nothing but toys, the beds half buried in stuffed animals. I smiled; these kids were really taken care of.

Finally, after showing us the kitchen (which was really well stocked) and the living room (which was littered with books and toys), she brought us to a room that was in the back of the house. "I hope this'll be big enough for you," Kanako-sensei said as she opened the door. "I could have probably giving you the living room or somewhere bigger, but this room has the most plug outlets and the kids know that they're not allowed in here, so…"

"This will be fine," Naru said, looking outside of the window at the back of the room. I agreed with Naru, but only because of how nice the room was; one of the nicest ones we've had. The walls and the floors were the same as most of the house, but in this room there was a solid wood table that gleamed in the sunlight and deep red curtains around the windows. The whole room was accented with browns and reds, and… it reminded me a little of my old house, back when my parents were still alive.

"Hey, where are the kids, anyway?" I asked Kanako-sensei. The little girl was still hanging off of her leg, but I hadn't seen or heard any others while we had toured the house.

"Oh, they're playing outside," Kanako-sensei said. "Would you like to meet them?"

"I'm afraid that setting up is our main priority at the moment," Naru said as Lin came in with a box of equipment. He must have seen my disappointment though, because then he added with a sigh, "Mai, however, can go if she wants. I'm pretty sure that Lin and I will be able to set up much faster without her in the way."

I knew for a fact that I was much better at setting up then Naru gave me credit for, so instead of replying to that, I just followed Kanako-sensei out of the room.

"How many kids are there, anyway?" I asked as she led me towards the living room.

"Oh, there are eleven here, but there will be twelve next month. So far, I have five girls and six boys."

"Wow, sounds like a handful," I said.

She laughed. "Oh the boys can get rowdy if you give them too much, and the girls will bicker if they're playing tea parties, but I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world." With that, she opened the patio doors (which were in the back of the living room, giving a clear view of the garden).

The minute I stepped out of the house, all I could hear was the shrieking and laughing of little kids. As I looked, I smiled as I saw a bunch of them running this way and that, the boys chasing a soccer ball and the girls playing some other made-up game. They were just so CUTE!

Of course, the minute that they saw me they all came rushing over, which was how I found myself on the ground the next second, having been tackled by almost a dozen kids. "Alright children, let the nice lady up now," Kanako-sensei said, trying not to laugh. Finally, when I was able to breath, she said, "Kids I want you to meet Mai Taniyama. She's here to help us out a little."

A little boy's brown eyes went wide. "You mean _that's_ Mai-chan?" he asked incredulously.

When I looked over at Kanako-sensei with an eyebrow raised, she said, "I've told them a story or two about you when you were living at my place. Now," she added, "It's time that I introduced you all."

"These three little girls are Yuki, Kiri, and Haruhi, and they're my 5 year olds." The blond and two brunettes (respectively) waved back. Kiri smiled, and I saw that she was missing her front teeth.

"Then we have our little rebels. Hachi and Kaito are 7, Kei's 9, and our oldest ones are Yuiko, Misaki, and Nowaki. They're 10."

"_**Hey, don't forget about me!**_" squeaked a little boy with blue eyes that rivalled Naru's except much warmer. Of course, I had no clue what he just said.

_**"Of course not, honey!"**_ Kanako-sensei replied in English. "This here is our little foreigner, Timmy. He comes from England, if you can believe it!"

"Really?" I asked, shocked. England seems to be popping up a lot in my life recently.

"Yup. Poor thing's family moved here a few weeks before they died, and he has no other family. It's also hard for him, because he doesn't understand any Japanese, but the kids treat him just the same as anyone else, and he gets along fine. Oh, and I almost forgot. This here is Kana," She said, pointing to the little girl who was clinging to her leg since we showed up. "She's my youngest here, and the most shy."

By this point the kids had already run away from us and continued playing, and the door bell had started ringing. "Oh, that must be the rest of your group," Kanako-sensei said. "I'll go and show them around. Why don't you go back and see if your boss needs you, Mai?" she asked.

"Sure, but do you mind if I use your kitchen?" I asked. I was sure that if I went back to the base Naru would just send me away again for tea.

"Sure," she said as she turned and went to the front door. I was just about to join her when I felt a tugging on my blue sweater. When I looked down, I saw that it was Timmy.

"Um, _**Hi, th-there!"**_ I said in very poor English (I was learning secretly but was still very poor at it).

"_**You'll want to be careful here, Miss Mai,"**_ he said to me, eyes serious. _**"They've taken a liking to you, and I fear that you may be next."**_

With that, he ran off to join the others, leaving me with a sense of danger, though I could not understand what was clearly a warning.

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**Mae: Timmy kind of scares me a bit, but he's _soooooo_ cute!**

**John: This kind of seems familiar... haven't we already been to an orphanage?**

**Mae: Yeah, with Father Toujo. But I have other plans that require orphans, so...**

**John: Oh, well... I guess that's alright.**

**Mae: *looks adoringly at John * You're so nice, John!**

**Naru: *in the background* Mae, tea.**

**EVERYONE: ...**

**John: Don't you mean Mai?**

**Naru: Mai's out sick today. I'll have her substitute make me tea instead.**

**Mae: ...substitute?**

**John: Mae doesn't own Ghost Hunt. Just thought I should remind you...**


	4. Chapter 4

After setting up the final camera in Hachi and Kaito's room, I finally made my way back to base. My shoulders were aching a little because Naru had brought one of his special cameras that came equipped with everything; night vision, infared…. Something else long and complicated that Naru had briefly explained…

Anyway, on my way back, I thought about our current situation. Kanako-sensei had decided to take the kids camping (more to keep them safe than anything else), so we had the house all to ourselves for the investigation. Also, Ayako, John, and Yasu had arrived, so everyone was filled in on the situation.

This was the situation:

As of yet, there was only one death in this house; the younger niece of the previous tenant (which was one of the many reason why they decided to sell the orphanage).

In the beginning, toys would disappear and furniture would be out of place, but Kanako-sensei thought it was only the children.

Then, the children began to be covered in unexplainable bruises and scratches.

Soon after, Kiri had been playing the boy's room when she felt a sudden pain on her legs, which was discovered to be 3 long gashes that had appeared out of thin air.

Finally, Kanako-sensei had had enough when Hachi had nearly been pulled under his bed by what he said were shadows.

Inwardly, I sighed. It was always sad when kids were involved with ghosts and death. Sure it was fun at Halloween, but everyday life – with real experiences – was never funny. Being orphaned on top of that worse. Not that that was an excuse, of course! But it was a bit exsesive…

Shaking my head of all thoughts, I opened the door and walked into base. From what I could see, John and Ayako were still setting up their equipement because they hadn't returned yet. Lin, of course, was typing away at his computer while keeping an eye on the screens. And Naru… well, would he really be Naru if he WASN'T looking through the files in his notebook?

"Hey, Mai! All done?"

I turned around to see Yasu smiling from one of the two couches in the room. "Yeah, I just finished," I said, walking over to him. He patted the empty seat next to him, so I went and plopped down onto the couch beside him. "How's everything here?" I asked, rubbing my shoulders.

"Same as always, I'm afraid," he said as he made me turn around. Before I could protest, he starting rubbing my shoulders in such an effective way that I found nothing to complain about. Behind me, he sighed. "Man, I wish Monk would get here soon."

I looked back at him. "Why?" I asked, more than slightly confused.

Yasu grinned. "Because he's so fun to tease, that's why!" I could help but laugh at that, remembering the many times he's pulled stunts on Monk.

It was then that I heard the unmistakeable snap of a notebook closing and what could have been an irritable sigh from my boss (it was hard to tell from this distance). Both Yasu and I turned to look at Naru, who was all but glaring at us. "I suggest that you both do something productive instead of wasting our valuable time with idle chatter and shoulder massages." He gestured to the EMF's and clipboard placed on the table in front of us. I huffed as I picked them both up. I should have expected it from Mr. Workaholic.

"Come on, Yasu," I said as we got up from the couch.

And just before we left the base, I heard Naru call out from behind me, "And Mai?"

"Yes, Naru?" I asked wearily, knowing what was coming.

"Bring me some tea before you get started."

~,~'~,~'~,~

While Yasu started taking temperature readings, I was in the kitchen, making yet _another_ batch of tea. Honestly, that was pretty much all I did in this job. Well, that and attract ghost like honey does flies… but that's beside the point!

As I let the water boil, I thought about this case. Well, not exactly the case itself. More, what would happen after it. For the past few days, I've been wondering what I could say to Naru to convince him and Lin to stay. Or at least come back once they finished up in England. I knew that going was an absolute must, because it was so important. But that didn't mean they couldn't come back, right?

But even then, I couldn't help but wonder. I mean, Gene was really the only reason why Naru was here in Japan at all, right? If he hadn't come searching for his brother, I would have never met him. And Gene was also probably the only reason why he stayed. Now that he found him, Naru had no more reason to stay.

And I guess that kind of hurt. Because, as much as I loved Naru, I doubted that I could make him stay. No-Not that I was going to give up that easily! I just meant that… it would be hard. Because as far as I was aware of, Naru didn't think of me as that important in his life. Maybe his tea slave… which was both a blessing and a curse, in a way…

I shook my head and slapped my face. Too hard. Again. "Ow….." I moaned slightly. I reeaaallly had to stop doing that. But I also had to stop thinking so depressionally. I mean, what was with that lately? I NEVER think like that! Argh, it has to be the case!

"I don't care what it takes!" I said to myself, lifting a fist in the air. "I WILL make him come back!" Of course, it was at that moment that I noticed the water boiling, and me, trying to keep it from making a mess, burning myself thereby ruining my moment.

"Hee hee hee…."

I whirled around, seeing nothing but an empty hallway. That was strange. I could have sworn I had heard someone laughing just now….. straining my ears, I could make out what sounded like feet padding down the hall. Quickly, I ran out of the kitchen.

"Wait!" I called out. But when I got there,, the hallway was just as empty as it had been before. Okay, now that was starting to get creepy….

"HELLO!" Someone shouted from the entrance, nearly scaring the socks off of me. Of course, I calmed down once I realised that it was only Monk.

"Hey, Monk! Bout time you showed up!" I said as I turned a corner. And froze.

Because next to a smiling Monk-who-didn't-look-like-a-monk was a little boy with blond hair and startling blue eyes…..

"**Hi Miss Mai! I'm back!" **Timmy said as he smiled up at me.

* * *

Mae: WAHHHHH! I'm running out of time! It's the apocalypse! I'm gonna diiiiiiieeeeeee!

Naru: What are you going on about this time?

Mae: *sniff* I'm starting school in a week... AND THIS CHAPTER IS TOO SHORT FOR MY LIKING!

Naru:...

Mai: No! I think it's fine!

Mae:*sniff* really?

Mai: Sure!

Mae: :3

Lin:... what a strange author. And she doesn't own Ghost Hunt.

Mae: O.o Did Lin just... speak?


	5. Chapter 5

I stood there for a moment in shock.

"I know, I know, I shouldn't have brought a kid to a haunted house," Monk was saying, looking kind of panicked. "But while I was on my way up I saw him walking along the road and I thought it was dangerous so I brought him back here! But only because I was going to contact his par…." He stopped in awe as Timmy ran to wrap his arms around my legs.

"**Miss Mai!"** he said happily.

"This can't be good," I muttered to myself.

~,~'~,~'~,~

"…no, it's okay. He'll be fine with us, promise... okay, bye!" I said before hanging up. Stuffing my pink cell phone into my pocket (a birthday gift from Ayako when she got sick of not being able to stay in contact what with my always being injured) I looked up.

After explaining the situation to a very confused Monk, we all found ourselves in the Base. Timmy sat between me and Yasu on one of the couches, swinging his little legs back and forth as he watched everyone curiously.

"Kanako-sensei said that he disappeared while she and some of the older ones were setting up camp. They've been searching the woods for him, thinking that he was playing hide and go seek or something." I sighed. "It looks like he'll have to stay here with us while we work on this case," I added.

"What I want to know is why he felt the need to come back," Ayako said, crossing his arms. "That was a dangerous thing you did, kid," she told Timmy. He looked up at her for a second, and then went back to staring at Lin, who was ever-silent and typing away at his computer. Ayako sighed in annoyance. "Damn kid's ignoring me now…."

"Ayako, I thought I told you," I said surprised. "Timmy doesn't understand Japanese at all. He's English."

All heads turned in my direction. I looked around, now confused. "What? I thought I mentioned it already."

A notebook snapped shut, and everyone turned to the source of the sound, which was none other than Naru. "I can't say that I am too surprised that Mai cannot remember what she has or has not said." Ignoring my growl, he walked over to the couch we were sitting on, and bent to rest on his knees as he looked at Timmy. Timmy, seeing Naru, focused his attention on him.

"**Timmy, my name is Mr. Shibuya. I'm Mai's boss."**

Timmy stared for a moment, then smiled wide.** "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shibuya!"** he said happily.

"**Would it be alright if I asked you a few questions?"** Naru asked him. When Timmy nodded, he continued. **"Why have you come back here? You know that it's dangerous, right?"**

"**Yes, sir, I know,"** Timmy said seriously. **"But I may be able to help, and I didn't want to leave when I knew that you guys were in danger."**

"**How are we in danger?"**

"**It's the ghosts, sir. They don't like that you're here. They think that you're going to take all of their friends away, and they aren't happy at all."**

"**I see," **Naru said thoughtfully. **"Would you mind telling me how you know this?"**

Timmy looked around, then leaned in to whisper. "**I can feel them around the house,"** he said.** "And sometimes I can hear them. They speak in a different language, but it's like it gets translated in my head. I understand them. But they don't know that I can, which is why they haven't targeted me yet."**

Naru nodded. "**And is it because of this that you think you can help us?"** he asked.

"**Not only that,"** Timmy said. **"I can help you figure out who the ghosts are. I know what they look like,"** he explained.

Naru stayed quiet a moment, then sighed.** "Alright Timmy, but on two conditions. One, you never go anywhere without one of us with you. This house and the ghosts in it are very dangerous, and the last thing that we want is for you to get hurt. Second, and most important, is that you have to do whatever I say. No arguing, no disobeying, otherwise I'll have someone bring you back to camp. Understand?"**

Timmy nodded with enthusiasm. **"Yes, sir! Thank you!"**

Naru, expressionless as ever, nodded and returned to Lin's side, leaving everyone else (besides John) slightly baffled at the foreign exchange.

~,~'~,~'~,~

Of course, Naru had explained everything to us after making sure that Lin had typed everything down. I sighed, really wishing that I had taken a professional English speaking course. Things would probably be much simpler if I could understand the language.

Especially since Timmy was clinging to me like a koala to a tree.

Not that I minded! I mean, he was just sooo darn cute! Since Naru had told him to stick with us at all times, he rarely left my side. Of course, the communication between us was strained because of the language barrier thing, but we were working that out. In only a hour we already had a kind of sign-language going, though mostly it was pointing at something and then pointing at something else.

Also, the snickers coming from the others wasn't exactly helpful. We'd only been at the house for 6 hours and they were already cracking jokes about me being a mother and stuff. Let me tell you, it gets old after the first few.

"Oh, Mai, there you are," Ayako said, coming out from one of the bedrooms.

"Hey, Ayako," I said. "How's everything going?"

She sighed dramatically while crossing her arms. "We haven't been able to sense anything so far. God, this would be so much easier if Masako was here." I raised an eyebrow, and she gave me a look. "What? Most of the time she's useful."

"Yeah, and the rest of the time she's obnoxious," I added, not hiding the fact that I was glad the little kimono wearing celebrity wasn't going to make an appearance this time.

Ayako rolled her eyes, then motioned for us to follow her. "In any case, let me show you where the bedrooms are so you don't get confused later."

The bedroom layout, as it turned out, was like it normally was when we were on a case (and weren't cooped up in two rooms). Naru, being the big boss and all, got Kanako-sensei's room. Ayako and I would be sharing Yuiko's bedroom (since there was only one bed, I was going to sleep on the floor). John, Yasu and Monk were going to share Misaki and Nowaki's room because it was the one with the most room. And of course, Lin was going to stay in the base.

I wasn't too happy about sleeping on the floor, but considering that all of the other bedrooms had had some sort of paranormal activity in them, I wasn't left with many other choices.

Once I was accustomed to the layout, I was about to head back to the base when I heard a noise. Once I tuned into it, I realised that I had heard it before. It was giggling.

And it sounded as if it were coming from the basement.

Groaning, I walked over to the basement door and opened it. "Timmy, didn't we tell you to stay with one of us at all times?" I asked from the top of the stairs. Nothing but an eerie blackness greeted me. "Come back up here now! It's dangerous!"

"**Miss Mai, what are you doing?"**

I turned around quickly to see Timmy standing behind me, looking confused in his little blue pj's. But wait, if Timmy was here next to me, than who was…

Before I could finish my though, something grabbed at my ankles. Too late did I understand what was happening, and too late did I scream for help.

I fell.

* * *

Mae: OH MY HOLY CRIPES I'M ALIVE!

Mai: What the heck? Where've you been this whole time?

Mae: *clings to Mai desperatly, babbles* School... work... smothered and buried alive... work... art...*startes sobbing* work...

Mai: Yikes!

Mae: LIN! MAKE THE NUMBERS GO AWAY! *clings to Lin*

Lin:...

Mai: *sigh* I knew that school could be evil, but to this extent?

Mae: *sobs* Evil quadratic equations...math...piles and piles of homework...

Lin:...

Mai: Oh well. Since the author seems to be having a mental breakdown, I'd like to say for her that she does not own Ghost Hunt or any of the characters in it.

Mae: Hey! I do own Kanako-sensei, Timmy, Nowaki, Misaki, Kana...

Mai: Okay, we get it! Don't name every one!

Mae: *still clinging to Lin* *n*

Lin:...


	6. Chapter 6

"**Miss Mai?" **Timmy cried out.

"I'm fine!" I called back, gently rubbing one of my arms. Strangely, my reflexes (which are usually useless) kicked in fast enough for me to grab onto the railing that had been installed on the right-side of the stairs. My elbow had bashed into the hard wood, though, so it was sore and surely bruising. Still, it was better than having my head cracked open by a tumble down a flight of stairs.

"Mai? What happened?" I heard from the top of the stairwell. Looking up from my seated position on the steps, I saw that it was a slightly breathless Ayako, with the rest of the gang not too far behind her.

"**One of the ghosts pulled her down the stairs, sir!" ** I could hear Timmy telling them.

"I thought I had heard Timmy downstairs," I clarified, standing up. "Before I could check, he popped up right behind me and…" I sighed. "I was pulled down the stairs."

Ayako stared for a moment, the rolled her eyes. "Of course," she said, flicking the switch by the doorway on so that light flooded the stairwell as well as the basement. "You know, I'm starting to think that we should have an escort with you at all times as well," she said, checking my arms.

While I growled at what she was implying, Naru made his way past us and down the stairs. "What exactly did you hear, Mai?" he asked, stone faced as ever.

I should have known he wouldn't care about my almost-tumble down the stairs. "Giggling," I told him. "Like a kid."

He nodded, then looked past me, up at Lin. "Did we get any readings from the basement before Mai had her 'accident'?" he asked, clearly ignoring me as I glared at him. Accident my foot!

Lin shook his head. "Nothing was abnormal," he said.

Naru looked at the rest of us. "Well, are you all going to just stand there, or are you going to at least pretend to be working?" With that, before anyone could answer him, he continued down the stairs.

"The nerve of that guy," Ayako muttered under her breath as Yasu and Monk went past us down the stairs.

"I think it would be best if I took Timmy back to the Base," John said, holding the frightened 5 year old's hand.

"Your right," I said. The last thing I wanted was to put Timmy in a dangerous situation. And the whole ghost-pulling-people-down-stairs thing screamed danger. Looking at Timmy, I said, "**Go to Base with John. I go with others."**

Timmy looked even more scared, but I smiled reassuringly at him. **"I okay,"** I told him.** "No worry, yes**?"

Slowly, he nodded his head. As John started to follow a retreating Lin, he turned around and shouted, **"Please be careful Miss Mai!"**

I nodded again, and with one more worried look, he turned to catch up with John. Sighing in relief, I turned to follow the others downstairs, only to come face to face with a surprised Ayako. "What?" I asked her.

"I didn't know you could speak English," she said, almost accusingly.

I shrugged. "Timmy's been teaching me a thing or two, since he never leaves my side," I said. "I don't know a lot, but I can make simple enough sentences that he can understand what I'm saying."

Ayako smiled a little. "Your right," she said as she started going downstairs. Turning towards me, she added, "You really don't know a lot."

You know, I should have seen that one coming.

"At least it's better than nothing!" I yelled back as I chased after her to the bottom of the staircase. "Honnestly, Ayako, I'm not as dumb as you _may think I am," I said angrily, before stopping short._

_What should have been the basement was what appeared to be the backyard. That's strange. When did I go outside?_

"_Come along now Rin," I heard behind me. Turning, I saw that there was a man standing behind me, dressed up in a light gray suit and black bow tie. Behind him, the house looked newer than it should have, and I could see a dirt road where the main road should have been._

_But instead of commenting on these things, I felt myself smile as the man held out his hand. "Yes, Uncle Tom!" I said as I ran towards him._

_As we went inside, I started to feel uneasy, but was feeling to happy to take too much notice. "Are we going to the basement again?" I asked him curiously, hoping that we were._

_A small nod accompanied by a look that I should have recognized. "Yes, Rin," he said as he opened the door. "We're going to play a new game."_

"_Really?" I said, jumping up and down, causing my light blue dress to bounce around me. "I can't wait! Is it a fun game?"_

_All of a sudden, I was standing by the kitchen doorframe watching the same man let a little blond haired girl in a blue dress walk down the stairs. And I was suddenly terrified as I realised what that look had been. Hatred._

"_Of course," he said, and before I could run and stop him, he closed the basement door, and the world went black._

~,~'~,~'~,~

"…..ai? Mai? Can you hear me?"

* * *

Mae: Oh gosh, two chapters in one month? *smiles* Yes, it's thanks to all of you lovely people for reviewing and keeping me going!

Mai: Why do you do this to me?

Mae: Hey, at least I didn't have Naru save you again! It makes you look more independant and strong!

Mai: Well, I gue- wait a sec! Are you trying to say that I'm not independant or strong?

Monk: Aw, poor Mai's being picked on again!

Mai: Mooonnnnkkk...grrrrr...

Mae: Oh, that reminds me! Because you people have been so lovely towards me and my story (though I don't own any of the main characters), I'm gonna give you all a present!

Mai: Oh no.

Mae: Yup! You see, I want to do another coupling in this story besides MaixNaru-

Mai: O/o

Mae: So I want to hear YOUR opinion on who you want to see! Maybe even send a request for your fav couple.

Monk: Don't do it! She's evi-

Mae: *pushes Monk into a closet* Kay, I'll be waiting for you! Until the next chapter!


End file.
